The Next New Thing.

The next new thing is an expansion of the work that’s been done on cloud computing. While there are many competitors in the cloud computing space (Apple, Microsoft, Google, DropBox and more!) no one have I been able to take complete control over the market.  I feel that the next new thing is something Apple is moving towards but has not yet quite completed. While I can’t coin a name for it, it would be described as a synchronous experience across all platforms. For example, Say you buy music from iTunes on your computer, the music would not only be downloaded to your computer, but also accessible from your iPod. While you’re saying “They already do that dumb” I’m talking about without the need to tell your computer to do so or to pull out your sync cable and plug it in to your computer. It would make sense for the program to realize that if you own an iPod and a Mac computer, chances are you are downloading music on your computer to also enjoy on your iPod.  Another application would be for students. For example, how many times have you been working on a paper and the computer you were working on crashed or went offline losing all of your hard work?  These could be solved by syncing everything you do over all your devices in the cloud. For example, you’ll work on your paper at home and it will sync to your iPhone. Once on your iPhone, you’ll proof read it over the train on your way to school to check it for errors (Don’t worry we know you didn’t do your paper last minute!), then when you arrive to school you log on to your Baruch Account, change any errors you made if you didn’t do that on your phone already, and then print it and turn it in. In any case, while I may be vague with the applications, it’s clear that the next new media is being able to sync your files and applications over many devices in the cloud, it’s just that no one company has taken the lead in doing so.

The Class Wiki so far...

I have to confess that I have not been working on the class wiki as diligently as I should have been. While I have not been actually writing and editing any articles, I have been doing a lot of research on my topic. The topic I chose to update has been synonymous with my research paper and thus I have become a well of knowledge on MMORPGs. There is a lot of information I was unable to include in my paper, for lack of relevance, that I will be adding to the class wiki in the final weeks of the semester. I hope everyone enjoys my contributions and keeps an eye out for them. 

File Sharing and P2P.

There’s been a lot of smoke in the air between what file sharing and peer-to-peer sharing is and I’m going to clear that up a bit. 

File sharing is the distribution of digitally stored files (usually the various types of new media we discussed over the semester such as MP3s, Videos, E-books and etc.). There are many online applications that promote and facilitate file sharing such as DropBox and Mediafire. In essence, these are legitimate services that often cater to people who are always on the move and need constant access to their files or in some cases actual businesses who use these applications to collaborate across many platforms and departments.

Peer-to-Peer sharing (P2P) is file sharing but, rather than done on a host such as Mediafire or DropBox, it is done directly between two or more people often referred to as "peers". The most popular form of P2P Sharing is the method known torrenting. By torrenting, individuals can connect to many peers, often people they don’t even know, and download files that contain content such as software, movies, music, e-books and more. So what’s the problem? While torrenting sounds great and useful for a lot of people, the problem is that people take advantage of the system and use it to share copyrighted content with each other without the consent of the copyright owner. This practice is known as pirating, and it has becoming synonymous with peer-to-peer sharing thus making the practice of peer-to-peer illegitimate. Pirating has been a big problem across many industries but the players in Hollywood have been hit especially hard.  As stated in the article Digital Pirates Winning the Battle with Studios, despite the efforts of the Warner Bros. Film Studio, by the release date of the movie the Dark Knight the movie had already been downloaded illegally through peer-to-peer programs over 7 million times. Other forms of peer-to-peer sharing include Warez sites, but these sites are less than reputable sources for downloading and often leave users with viruses and key loggers. Finally, the most surprising source of peer-to-peer type activity is through legitimate file sharing sites. People open up accounts and, in small private communities, send out the links to files for others to download thus keeping the activity under the radar.

All in all it’s become a huge problem and corporations and the governments are at a loss for how to stop it. Recently, the owners of the file sharing site MegaUpload were forced to close down their website and prosecuted for facilitating copyright infringement. While it hasn’t stopped peer-to-peer communities sharing pirated files, it was definitely a blow to the system and a deterrent which caused many file sharing sites to close down for fear of persecution. 

Privacy and New Media

The issue of Privacy has been a hot topic nowadays especially when it comes to New Media. The premise is that, as we become more connected to new media technologies, we lose more and more of our privacy. When you sign up for a social network, use an online navigation system, or even simply browse the internet, your information is being recorded into huge databases. There is a split in opinion when it comes to this information being recorded. Some people could careless while others are extremely concerned about what type of information is available about them online.

My personal opinion on this is that people need to become more educated about what they are doing online. Before you put in your personal information because you want to use the next hot new app, do a little research into what that company will be doing with your information. Also, i encourage everyone to engage in some form of online reputation management. For me, it is usually as simple as typing my name into Google and seeing what comes up about me. If i am displeased about what information is being displayed about me, usually in a blog or personal site, i can edit the privacy settings myself. If there is a company offering to sell information about me, they often have support lines where you can opt out of their database. 

On a final note, my advice would be to think critically about what you are doing on the internet. If you don't want people to know where you've been use incognito or privacy windows in your browser. If you don't want your personal information on Facebook or Twitter open to the public, invest some time into learning about the wide array of privacy features they have available.

Advice to Baruch College on New Media

Simply, my advice to Baruch on New Media would be to make our classrooms more digital and easily accessible to students and the faculty. Below are some improvements that could be easily made.

1. More Online Classes - While there are few online classes and hybrid classes in my major (Digital Marketing), there is room for many more courses to be taught online. Instead of stuffing people into huge lecture halls with over 200 students (Psychology, Micro/Macro Economics, Business 1000, & Etc.) why not allow more of these classes to be taught online? It will be easier for the Professors to manage and easier for the students to attend. Many universities are teaching their courses online and we should be moving towards this new technology. I for one am happy i get to take this class online. :)

2. More Digital Course Materials - More Textbooks online! Students are tired of paying over inflated prices for college textbooks. Besides, half the time we either buy the book second hand from someone else, or we just don't buy the text book at all (some professors will even understand if the textbook is just too expensive and urge you to buy a previous edition). Sure some companies offer their textbooks in digital editions but not enough. Baruch should push publishers to provide more digital textbooks that are supplemented with online materials to make learning more immersive.

3. Seriously... Get rid of Blackboard - I can't tell you how many complains i have heard from students and faculty about Blackboard. Not only is Blackboard outdated (Almost obsolete in lieu of newer software) it is extremely counter-intuitive. Students and Faculty alike admititely don't use blackboard because it is to complex or difficult and the learning curve is very high.

Of course, these are simply just a few changes and, in my opinion, Baruch does take more incentive to make the campus more technology friendly then other CUNYs have. 

Speaking of Creativity...

Since the topic is Creativity i want to share a few links with you guys. These are YouTube channels that my friends and i manage. We make videos around a wide array of topics such as internet pop culture and the online games we play. And while the videos aren't exactly all that great or detailed, we still have fun and it makes our bond even stronger. Check out the links at the bottom of this post!


http://www.youtube.com/user/Hirashirou/videos

http://www.youtube.com/user/lZenozl/videos

Creativity

New Media encourages and actually fosters creativity. With more means of new media becoming more accessible and affordable to people (televisions, computers, and etc.), accompanying tools are being released that allow people to create media such as mashups more easily. For example a mashups such as the one seen in Disney Tolerates a Rap Parody of its Critters by Brooks Barnes, a group of YouTube users used the Disney character likenesses to create a mash up to the popular song of "Crank That" by the artist Soulja Boy. Years ago, when personal computers were first introduced, creating videos was not only a technical process that required lots of knowledge and expertise, it was expensive as computers were not accessible to everyone and the software often was double the price of the computer. Now, people can edit and create mashups for free with the windows movie editor software is bundled with their personal computers.

There are various other software packages that foster the creation of new media. For example, the Adobe Creative Suite allows users to create their own graphics, add animations to these graphics in Flash, edit movies in After Effects, and even create their own websites in Fireworks and Dreamweaver. It is truly a set of software that has been vital to the rise of new media, and also presents various career opportunities for many individuals.

Also, People can make their own video games. With the release of software such as Maya and Cinema 4D, people can model complex 3d characters and code them into games using C++ and JavaScript.

            In a nutshell, the advancement of computers fosters creativity in new media, and with new technologies emerging every day, it will only continue to allow people to vent their creativity in many new ways.